Black and White Insanity
by Little Tin Wings
Summary: "The trouble is, Blaze, people always see everything as black and white. Trust and betrayal, good and evil, truth and lies..." He cast her a sideways glance. "Your sanity." The silence hung between them. "So what happens now?" "We both get a second chance."
1. Void of Desire

**A/N:** This story is set in the small window of time after the three hedgehogs defeat Solaris in 06, but before Elise blows out Iblis in the past. It's an au about an idea I had where Mephiles is sent to the same dimension Blaze was. Enjoy!

P.S. Mephiles has a mouth in this story.

* * *

_**Blaze**_

Time warped around her, morphing into strange portals and black holes. It curled delicately over her, moving her slowly down its mysterious course. It pulled her through one of the open holes, tugging at her still form and offsetting her focus.

_'A golden sun setting, casting its warm rays across a clear blue sky, washing over a perfect world with bright green hills.'_

_ 'Is this what the world is like now?' _she wonder absently, her mind dulled from the constant shifting of space. Was that strange image that had entered her mind the kind of world Silver was living in? Now that Iblis was gone?

_'Blaze...' _his soft voice echoed in her thoughts, bringing her memories of his gentle face. She hoped he had managed to get rid of Iblis in the past, and the world was the paradise he had always dreamed of.

The sudden sensation of falling yanked her forcefully out of her thoughts, replacing the dull feeling in her mind with cold panic. Before she could open her eyes to see the world closing in beneath her, she smacked onto hard ground. Pain seared through her back and down her legs, a slow hiss escaping her clenched teeth.

The pain subsided rather quickly-more quickly than seemed natural-and she forced her eyelids open. Black. Nothing but black swirled with white, merging into random splotches of gray. She sat up slowly and blinked several times, the swirl before her a hypnotic void.

_'Blaze, come closer...' _The gentle, starry voice sounded so far away, pulling her to her feet and tugging her towards the merging colors. She didn't wonder why she was walking deeper and deeper into the swirling madness, all she knew was that she wanted to reach that beautiful voice so full of kindness. _'Blaze,' _it pressed, sounding more urgent than before. _'Blaze, we need you.' _Her vision blurred around the edges, her thoughts becoming muddled and slow.

A face started taking shape in the void, innocent and childlike yet so full of understanding. Spiked silver quills sat atop the figure's head, and bright eyes peered at her through the emptiness, light yellow tinged with orange like the setting sun...

"Silver," she whispered, reaching towards the ghostlike figure. The smile he gave her sent a sudden jolt through her, sharpening her thoughts. _'Stay focused, Blaze,' _she scolded herself, shaking her head slightly. _'It's just a hallucination.' _She turned around and started retracing her steps, trying to find where she landed. But as she continued walking, it felt as if the world was moving rather than her.

_**Mephiles**_

Stars, moons, delicate lights he felt would extinguish as he passed, their bright glows illuminating his dark fur with and azure aura. Space and time enveloped him, embracing him in its cold clutches.

_'Iblis.' _ The word echoed in his mind and slipped from his lips, a cloud of breath lingering in the starlit atmosphere. _'Iblis,' _he murmured again. _'Iblis, where are you? I do not feel you.' _His voice whispered across the glowing darkness, reaching for the stars in hopes they could hear his plea. _'Iblis...'_

He had felt his brother slip away when they had first started to drift through space, but how far had he gone? Images of three hedgehogs entered his mind; silver, blue, black streaked with red. He clenched his fists, anger boiling deep within him. They had separated him from Iblis, just as they had in the past.

_'I'll find them,'_ he vowed. _'I'll find them and crush them until they're nothing but dust. And then I'll-'_

He was falling at the speed of light, falling passed the stars and planets, falling passed time itself. Everything folded around him, colors blurring and smearing together, creating a swirl of rainbows. And then they faded into black and white, merging into random splotches of gray.

_**Blaze**_

_ 'Blaze.' _Silver's voice kept echoing in her mind, more persistent and urgent each time it spoke, trying to force her to think it was really him. And every time his face started taking shape in the void, she ignored it; cast him from her thoughts.

_ 'Blaze, we need you. We can't stop Iblis on or own, we need you to control him. You're the only one that can stop him. He's already destroyed one city. If you don't come back, he'll destroy the whole world.' _She kept walking, kept ignoring the bright eyes that tried to form, the familiar voice that continuously called for help. _'Blaze..' _it pleaded, trying to claw at her heart and make her look into the void. But she refused to let the hallucinations control her mind.

_'He destroyed everything you loved, took away the one person you trusted and cared for.' _The new voice surprised her, yet it somehow seemed familiar, like she had heard it speak all her life.

"Who are you," she growled, stilling her steps and searching the void for any shapes that might have formed. Nothing was there except the swirling colors, not even Silver's shining eyes. The voice laughed, reminding her of something she had once heard as a child, but couldn't quite place it.

_'I am you, Blaze, and you are me. I'm the voice of your heart, the voice of what you feel. And I can tell just how much you hate him, how much you want to destroy him, destroy them all.'_

"I would _never_ want to destroy Silver. He's done absolutely _nothing _to make me hate him," Blaze said calmly, her fire beginning to ignite within her. "Don't pretend to know what I want and feel." She stopped suddenly, realizing she was talking to a voice that was most likely another hallucination. She shook her head and started walking again, ignoring the sharp pain that pierced through her skull when she moved.

_'I never said I was talking about Silver,' _the voice chuckled, sounding far too similar to her. _'Maybe I was talking about Mephiles. It is his fault that you're here, after all. Isn't it?' _She ignored the voice, even though its words made her heart skip a beat. Why _had_ she thought it was talking about Silver?

_'Because you hate him, you want to kill him,' _the voice growled. _'You want to make him pay for what he did to you and your brother.' _Brother? She didn't _have _a brother. But something dwelling deep within, something bound to her soul, made her believe the voice, made her want to destroy something; destroy everything.

_'Mephiles,' _the voice breathed. _'Your brother was Mephiles. And those hedgehogs killed him.' _Blaze growled, lunging into the void, fire bursting from her flesh.

"I'm going to kill them," she snarled, her voice a violent rumble. "I'm going to kill every last one of them. And then, I'll destroy their pathetic world piece by piece." The voice laughed at her anger, fueling her rage and desire to kill. But somewhere in the edges of her mind, she wondered why the anger didn't feel like it belonged to her.

_**Mephiles**_

The ground beneath him pulsed, beating like a cold heartbeat. He pressed his hands upon the strange earth, feeling it thump against his fingertips. He lifted his head slightly, surveying the world around him. It was so full of unborn life, sprouting with energy. He rose to his feet, reaching out his hand to feel the stale air.

There was no wind. But there was nothing to create even the smallest breeze. Not yet. He took a step forward and felt the worlds shift, felt the stars swim around him. It could be beautiful if it could fully form. But it didn't have enough power to start shaping itself, didn't have anything to feed off of.

He shook his head and started walking, feeling the swirling colors and shifting worlds for a way out; a way back. Nothing. The portal he had been sent trough had closed, leaving no way home. A low growl ripped from his throat, echoing and fading into the void, a strange sensation running through him. The worlds were reaching out to him, trying to get his attention. He closed his eyes and felt the atmosphere again, reaching deeper into the surrounding energy. All the stars and planets had felt something, and they wanted him to feel it too.

As he searched deeper, he started to feel a force of life, a powerful energy radiating from its form. A faint smile twisted his muzzle, contorting his face into a cruel mask. He understood why all the worlds had reached for him. The void wanted the energy for itself, so it could start forming. And it seemed to want Mephiles to get the source for it. But as he felt the power and strength of the creature, he had other plans.

If he could harness the energy, he would be powerful enough to open a portal large enough to get back. Powerful enough to destroy everything. And that's what he wanted more than anything; to destroy every living and nonliving thing. A dark chuckle rose from his lips as he took a step forward, walking towards his freedom, his way back. Walking towards the destruction of all existence.


	2. Branded in My Soul

_**Blaze**_

__Time and space were riping, tearing apart in a large gap. Fire burned and leaped through the cavity, prying it wider with its flaming claws. The swirl of black and white was torn as well, the colors reaching for the exposed patch of universe. If the fire didn't stop burning, everything would be shattered.

But the hole let Blaze breathe, pushed much needed air into her lungs, clearing some of the fuzziness in her head. The only problem was, it let the fire breathe too, let it feed and grow. And _Blaze_ was controlling it, making it tear apart time.

_'Stop,' _she told the fire. _**'Stop.'**_ But the flames didn't listen. They kept roaring through her veins and pouring into the opening. She called to them, trying to pull them back to her. They yanked forward, tearing out from her flesh and making her stumble. They were fighting her with everything they had.

"They're not mine," she whispered. "I'm not the one controlling them." They were too forceful to be hers, too angry.

_'Yes, they are yours, Blaze. But they're mine, too.'_ It was the voice from before, the voice that had convinced her Silver was her enemy. _'He is,'_ the voice said. _'I don't see **why **you insist on fighting that fact.'_

"You're a lying hallucination," Blaze said, still struggling with the fire. "My mind created you, so my mind can destroy you."

The voice let out a low, rumbling laugh that echoed in her bones. _'You think **you're **the one in control, Blaze? I made you realize who your true foes are, and I can do it again. You're blind, Blaze, blind to the truth. Your mind is the only hallucination you've ever had.'_

Blaze was breathing heavily, the pain in her head driving her to her knees. "If I'm so blind," she hissed, "tell me who's controlling that fire. Tell me why I can't stop it."

_'Oh, Blaze,'_ the voice sighed. _'If I tell you everything, there'll be nothing left to learn. But if you must know, I'm the one controlling the fire. And you can't stop it because this void is pulling it from your flesh, its grasp too strong for you to fight. It has the power of worlds on its side, Blaze, the power of stars. And all you have, is your will.'_

Blaze gasped as more flames were pulled from her soul and forced herself to stand. "My will is stronger than any world, any star. Strong enough to stop you." The air coming from her lungs was ragged, billowing out in dark clouds of smoke. "And if you think you're so mighty and all powerful, tell me who you are, so I can sing the tale of your demise."

The voice chuckled softly. _'You are so arrogant, Blaze, you never know when enough is enough. But I will tell you who I am, so you may know who clings to your soul. I am the very fire that burns in your veins, the very blood that keeps you alive. I am Iblis, and I **am** your soul.'_

_**Mephiles**_

Mephiles was getting closer to the energy, could feel the strong pulse of life as he neared, so full of raw power. But something about it had changed. It seemed like it was spilling out into the void, spilling through space; spilling through time.

He narrowed his eyes and quickened his steps, feeling the energy seep into the void, making the colors more vibrant. If all that power spilled out into the void, the worlds would finish forming, and drain the source of all its energy. Including its life force. And if there was no energy left, he would have no way back, no chance of revenge.

He was running now, trying to reach the energy before it drained completely. As he got closer, he could feel how much had already been lost, how much had drifted through space, wasted. And when he neared reaching it, a pang went through him, the energy feeling so familiar now he almost didn't feel it.

"Iblis," he breathed, forcing himself to run faster. Iblis had survived, hadn't been lost in space. But there was another energy mixed with Iblis'. It felt familiar as well, but he couldn't tell what it was. It had traveled through space and time, traveled through dimensions. He could feel that, and he could feel that it was something full of life and energy. Some_one_ full of life and energy. Someone that would die alongside Iblis if he didn't hurry.

_**Blaze**_

Fire burned around her, an orange aura so bright it made the entire void glow with life. "It doesn't matter if you _are _Iblis. Or if you're bound to my soul," Blaze panted, her vision blurring around the edges. "It doesn't even matter if you _are _my soul. I'll still... I'll still..." She gasped for breath, swaying slightly on her feet. "I'll still stop you," she finished, reaching out to the gap in the void.

Iblis sighed softly, and Blaze could feel the fire caressing her face. _'You can't fight fire with fire, Blaze,' _he breathed, stroking her face again with his long, flaming finger. _'You've tried it enough times to know it doesn't work.'_

Blaze touched the fire that pried the hole wider, letting it curl around her fingers. "Why do you sound like me?" She turned around to look at the pulsing swirl of colors. "How can you even talk? You couldn't speak before." She was tired, exhausted, but her words were full of confidence; demanding.

Iblis seemed to embrace her from within, warming her already burning flesh. _'I can speak now because I'm inside of you, I have your voice, which is why I sound like you.' _He laughed softly, the sound strangely calming. _'I used to be a mindless flame, raging across the land, burning down everything in my path. But now, I'm in a body, Blaze, I can walk. I can think and feel and breathe.' _The light laughter turned dark, chilling. _'Imagine what I could do in your body, Blaze, all the plans I could concoct, now that I have your mind. Time and space... No one in the universe would know how to stop me.'_

Blaze looked out into the darkness of space that shone through the tear. "Where is this hole supposed to lead?" she asked quietly, tugging lightly on the flames with her mind. They still kept burning. An endless fire.

_'Once it fully opens, it will be a portal that leads anywhere I want,' _Iblis answered, pushing more flames into the hole. _'Fighting is useless, Blaze. The only way to get rid of me is to let me go, unbind be from your soul.'_

Blaze laughed softly, caressing the fire as it poured from her flesh. "Oh, I intend to," she whispered, spreading her arms wide. Her mind swam as she looked at the opening portal, her one chance at finally ridding herself of Iblis. Fire burst from her, burning white hot. It spread across the void in great waves, eager to devour something; everything. "I'm going to _burn _you out."

_**Mephiles**_

A searing heat swept passed him, curling and twisting in white clouds. His eyes darted around the void and his steps slowed; everything was covered with burning mist.

He reached out to the smoke, feeling the pulse of energy inside it. "Iblis." His eyes narrowed. He could recognize his brother's fires anywhere. He started running again, wondering _why_ Iblis would release his flames on such an empty land. And then he felt the life force he had felt earlier; the one that had mixed with Iblis'.

_'What are you doing, Iblis? Where are-'_ The void before him split open, a gust of fire bursting through and knocking him backwards. The fire swam above him, twisting and morphing into shapes. He jumped to his feet, the heat of the fire searing his muzzle. Another wave of flames hit him from behind, knocking him off his feet again and colliding with the first fire. Before he could get up again, a face started taking shape in the flames; a silver hedgehog with yellow eyes.

"Hello, Mephiles," he said quietly, a faint smile on his lips. It was the boy he had convinced to kill the blue hedgehog.

_'What is __**he **__doing here?'_ The hedgehog's eyes seemed to glow as he took a step towards Mephiles.

"All the worlds are being ripped apart," he said gently. "There's a gap in time and space, and it's going to destroy this whole dimension." He paused for a moment, studying Mephiles as if to see whether or not he really cared. "Stop the fires from burning before both you and Iblis die." He started fading away, his bright eyes dimming. "Stop Blaze before she burns herself out and turns everything into ashes." He faded away completely, leaving a cloud of smoke behind as the only sign to show he had ever been there. _'Stop the fires from burning, before you lose your way home._

_**{}{}**_

Mephiles found himself running at full speed towards Iblis, pushing himself as hard as he could. He wasn't doing this for that boy, or that 'Blaze' person he spoke of. He was doing it for Iblis. And he'd rip apart all the worlds if he had to, destroy time and space completely. He'd sworn revenge, and he'd get it, no matter how many lifetimes it took_._

The energy was getting closer, the heat of the fire became unbearable, but he was almost there. He plunged deeper into the endless twist of colors, past stars, and worlds, and suns, past grasses that would never grow. Until, he saw a splash of purple surrounded by orange; a kneeling, laughing cat, a lit with flames.

_**Blaze**_

The flames consumed her, and overwhelming mass of heat that washed through her, twisting around her ribs and across her heart. They swam in the air before her; a great beast of fire, trying to break free of her clutch.

_'Don't be foolish, Blaze, you can't __**burn **__me out. I'm made of fire, as is your soul.' _Iblis breathed the words across her neck, whispered them against her mind; a deadly poison, grasping at her thoughts.

"Every fire dies," Blaze whispered, choking on her own breath. "Every spark burns out. Even you, Iblis. You are no better than the rest of us. She fell into a fit of gasping and coughing, half choking, half sobbing. To observers, it would appear that the burning cat was laughing. But in truth, she was trying to rid herself of her soul.

_**Mephiles**_

The fire pelted him like burning hale, worming its way into his flesh. He nearly collapsed from the pain, but he was used to the burn of fire. He pushed on through the heat and smoke, getting closer to the burning figure. He could hear his brother's laugh echo through the cat's mind before whispering across the void.

"Iblis," he breathed, moving slowly forward. "Stop." For a moment, the fire stopped burning, the hole in the swirl of colors beginning to close. Mephiles sighed softly as the pain left his body, relaxing slightly when the pressure of the heat was lifted. He walked forward, stopping directly behind the cat.

She was breathing heavily, dark smoke rising from her lips. "What's wrong, Iblis?" she seethed, trying to stand. "Are you afraid you'll die?"

Iblis chuckled darkly, his voice sounding just like the flaming creature's. _'I didn't stop because of you, cat. Perhaps you should look and see who's behind you.' _The figure snarled and turned slowly around, a small groan of pain leaving her mouth. Mephiles smirked when her eyes widened, and he reached for Iblis, ready to merge.


	3. Broken, Severed, Burned

_**Blaze**_

It had all stopped so suddenly. The fire, the fuzziness in her mind, the hole in the void. All that was left was the billowing smoke that rose from her lungs. She thought she had heard a voice behind her, but who else could be there? She shook her head slightly. The void was playing with her. She heard Iblis murmur something, but she couldn't quite tell what it was.

"What's wrong, Iblis?" she hissed, gritting her teeth as she tried to stand. "Are you afraid you'll die?" She heard Iblis let out a dark laugh, but it wasn't just in her mind this time; it spread across the whole barren world.

_'I didn't stop because of you, cat.'_ His whisper was icy; amused. _'Perhaps you should look and see who's behind you.'_

Blaze snarled softly, but turned slowly and painfully around. Her eyes widened when she saw Mephiles behind her, a faint smirk spreading across his muzzle. And then he seemed to reach out, his presence entering her mind.

"Iblis," he whispered, and the fire was sucked from her flesh.

_**Mephiles**_

Something was wrong. Iblis should have been able to rip himself free of the cat and merge with him. But the fire just wrapped around his body and forced him back. _'What's happening, Iblis?' _he thought, the words reaching out to his brother's mind. _'Why can't we become Solaris?'_

_ 'Oh, brother. Don't you know anything?' _Iblis sounded amused, his voice loud and clear in the void. _'I am the Iblis that was raging across the land in the far future. The Iblis that was sent away with you was the beast that slumbered in the Princess of Soleanna. That Iblis was the only Iblis you ever merged with. Your body recognized me as just a mindless fire in that time. But now, I am a being, a creature of intelligence. You can merge bodies together, brother, but you can't merge minds.'_

The flames pulled away from him and pushed the snarling, standing cat back to her knees. _'You are timeless, Mephiles. You can go back to your past without two of you existing. Time changes me. It transforms me into different creatures as it wears on. There's only one of you, brother, and that's all there'll ever be. But there are thousands of me. You can go wherever and whenever you want, but I can only be in one place at a time.'_

Mephiles narrowed his eyes at the fire as it once again spread, prying at the closed hole. "So what happened to the other Iblis?" he asked coldly, watching as the cat stood up defiantly.

Iblis sighed softly, the flames burning red hot. _'I told you, brother, there can only be one version of me in a single time line. I was here first, so the version that was merged with you was sent back to that pathetic world. He's probably sealed beneath the earth now.' _Mephiles clenched his fists tightly, unable to understand why he was so angry. _'Why do you care so much about the past, Mephiles? Something that's long since gone.'_

"I don't care about the past, _brother_," Mephiles snarled. "All I want is destruction."

Iblis seemed to shift inside the cat's mind, adjusting the level of flames and heat. _'And what do you think __**I **__want?'_

"Something else," Mephiles whispered. "Something selfish." Before he could say anything more, and before Iblis had a chance to answer, the cat lunged at Mephiles, pinning him to the pulsing earth.

"What did you do to my world?" she asked calmly, her golden eyes lit with fire. "What did you do to Silver?" She was calm, so calm. But her body was a raging heat on top of his, burning his flesh mercilessly. She slammed him into the ground, fire licking at his face. _"What did you __**do **__to him?" _Her words were bellowed out, the infuriating calm no longer there. She was spitting sparks in his face before she was suddenly wrenched back by the flames that consumed them both.

_**Blaze**_

She was burning up. Blaze the Cat, a pyrokinetic and master of fire, was burning to death. The flames that burst from her flesh were eating her up from the inside. They curled calmly around her heart, tearing her atoms apart slowly. "Silver," she whispered, hoping to see his face once more before her death.

"Shh, Blaze. It's okay, I'm here." His voice, always so kind and warm, worked its way into her mind. She opened her eyes to see him crouching in front of her, his hands resting lightly on her shoulders.

"Silver," she murmured, falling into his gentle embrace. He stroked her hair soothingly, planting a soft kiss on the top of her head. "Silver, I'm dying," she coughed, the smoke in her lungs making her choke.

A calming laugh left his lips. "No you're not, Blaze. Mephiles is helping you." _Mephiles? _She regained her bearings, and when she opened her eyes, Silver had vanished; disappeared into thin air. She was lying on her side in the hypnotic void, and _Mephiles _was kneeling beside her, his eyes closed and his hands hovering slightly above her head.

_**Mephiles**_

As soon as the cat was yanked off of him, the fire poured out into the void again, tugging the closed hole open. "Why do you keep doing this, Iblis?" Mephiles hissed, watching as the flames curled into shapes around the sprawled figure.

'_Don't you want to go __**home, **__Mephiles?' _Iblis asked mockingly, pulling more fire from the cat. _'Don't you want __**revenge?**__' _He laughed softly as the hole grew to its original size and started growing larger by the second.

"You don't want revenge. I can feel something else in your mind, but I can't tell what it is." Mephiles stepped up to the hole, running his finger along the edge of it.

Iblis growled, his mocking patience dissipating. _'You know what I __**really **__want, Mephiles?' _he seethed. _'I want you __**dead**__. I'm tired of you trying to control me, making all the plans to get what __**you **__want. And once you're dead, I'm going to turn that world you love so much into my own personal hell.'_

Streams of fire reached out and wrapped around Mephiles, making him cry out in pain. One of the streams curled around his neck, cutting off his air and making his mind haze. He tried to call upon his chaos energy, but the dizziness refused to let him concentrate. Iblis scoffed, letting the flames that held Mephiles increase in temperature.

_'The only one that could stop me is that cat. She'd have to gain control over me.' _He seemed to smirk inside Mephiles' mind, silently amused by his pain. _'But she's incapable of stopping me now. Before, she might have had a chance, if she hadn't let her mind shatter as it did.' _The smoke that had been floating around the void entered Mephiles' lungs, making it impossible to breathe. But still, he managed a short laugh.

"Shattered things can sometimes be repaired," he murmured, reaching out with his mind's slim fingers to touch the mind of the cat. It was slightly cluttered and warm, constantly flickering with images of the yellow eyed silver hedgehog, his smile always bright and encouraging.

_'What are you doing?' _Iblis snarled, tightening the stream around Mephiles' neck as if to snap it.

"Freeing her of you," Mephiles choked, black blood running down his collarbone. With a sharp tug on the cat's thoughts that made Iblis hesitate, the whips of fire were released and Mephiles ran over to the cat's side. "Now to stop _you _from getting free." He placed his hands above the feline's head, working fast to mend her mind.

_**Blaze**_

His reptilian green eyes stared coldly into hers, as if he hadn't promised her and Silver salvation and then betrayed them. She was ready to lunge at him again, burn him to a crisp. But Silver materialized out of the void, holding her back.

"You need to let him help you, Blaze. Otherwise, you both may be lost forever." He was gone before she could blink, completely faded as if he had never been there. She turned back to Mephiles, and the only thing that kept her from lighting him on fire, was the blood that matted his dark fur.

"I'm not going to try and deceive you again, _Blaze_..." he hissed. "But we need to stop Iblis. And as much as I hate to admit it, only you can do that." He stared hard at her for a moment, his eyes boring into hers. "You need to gain control over him. But you will not succeed without my help. So what will it be? Your pride, or the fate of the universe?"


	4. Moments Between

Someone tells you how to save the world, when in reality, they've given you the key to destroy it. And after they betray you, they decide to help you. Not for your sake, but for their's.

He wasn't doing it for her, and she wasn't doing it for him. They both had their own desires, their own wishes to fulfill. But they couldn't get what they wanted if they fought each other. They had to fight side by side, no matter how much they hated the other.

"You have to pull him in, don't let _him _control _you._" The flames were encircling both of them, twisting angrily around them and burning at their fur.

"What do you _think _I'm doing?" she hissed, feeling the fire wrench itself from her body.

He raised an eyebrow at her struggle, trying his hardest to prevent Iblis' mind from entering Blaze's. "Well, you're clearly not succeeding," he mused, a cruel smile stretching across his muzzle.

She growled and spun on him, her eyes burning just as fiercely as her flesh. "I'll have you know, _Mephiles, _it's not _easy_ trying to stop a _god _when this cursed void is pulling it out of my body, and forcing hallucinations in my mind."

He cocked his head to the side in thought, is green eyes searching her golden ones. "What are you hallucinating?" he inquired, wincing as a stream of fire whipped across his face.

Blaze glowered at him for a moment, but answered his question. "If you _must_ know, I keep seeing my dear friend Silver, the one you _tricked._" She spat the last word out bitterly, her face contorting slightly in anger.

Mephiles rolled his eyes, tensing slightly as Iblis fought against the mental cage. Mortals always had to complicate things too much. "There's a reason the silver hedgehog keeps appearing, and why you often feel strange sensations."

Blaze glanced at him momentarily before turning back to the flames. "Oh?" she asked sarcastically, her eyes widening in mock surprise. "And what reasons might _that_ be?"

Mephiles once again rolled his eyes at her words, wondering _why_ she had to be so proud and stubborn. "This isn't just a world in a whole other dimension, Blaze. It's an _entire_ dimension. It feels strange because you're walking between worlds." He took a deep breath and glanced at her, but her face was impassive. "The reason it's just a blank void is because the worlds don't have enough power to form into _proper _worlds. The void is trying to create life, and your mind is the only energy force there is here. You must be thinking about that hedgehog a lot, so it pulled him from your memory and brought him to life."

Blaze looked at him slowly, both brows raised. "Why is it just using my mind and not yours?" The fire pulled from her flesh again, but she yanked it back and waited patiently for his response.

"The void doesn't see me as a living creature; it sees me as time," he said softly, his gaze lingering on the fire the curled above him.

It was Blaze's turn to roll her eyes. "Very well then. Now if you're done explaining the secrets of the universe to me, we should _probably_ stop Iblis from turning everything to ashes."

_**{}{}**_

Had there been living creatures in the void, it would have been a strange sight to witness the two figures walking side by side. The male was dark, his fur blending in with the black of the void. Blood seeped from the burns in his flesh, matting with the ashes that clung to his form. The female was lavender, her light coat standing out against the swirl of colors. Her clothing was torn and caked in burnt blood. Ashes were smeared across her face, and she smelled of foul smoke.

"Tell me, _Mephiles_," Blaze said coldly. "What will become of us? Will we wander this... dimension until our deaths?" Her intent eyes looked at him expectantly, and a familiar warmth washed over him. It was the warmth of her flames, the warmth he always felt when he was surrounded by Iblis' rage.

As he gazed at her, he realized how much she reminded him of Iblis. They both had that same beautiful, burning glory. And that realization hit him with a sudden want and need to help and protect her. It was as if she had replaced Iblis somehow; become his sister in spirit.

"No," he replied, his voice soft and somewhat gentle. "We're not going to die, Blaze. We're going to find our way home."

She laughed quietly, and he couldn't tell if it was bitter, or the sound of lost hope. "Even if we _do_ find our way home, maybe I should just stay here." Her voice was somewhat broken, the sound of despair making her shoulders slump. "If the world is now the one Silver dreamed of, I'd only ruin it."

"Why is that?" Mephiles asked, slightly curious.

Blaze let out the bitter laugh again and just shook her head. "People _love_ Silver in that world, he was their hero. But they always thought that _I_ caused all the fires; always said that _I_ was Iblis. And if I go back, no one will want anything to do with Silver because he's friends with me, and they'll think I'll start the fires over again." She let out a high pitched laugh, but this time, the sound was disturbing. "Maybe I _should_ become Iblis, and just destroy everything." She fell into a giggling fit, and Mephiles roughly grabbed her shoulders and shook her.

"Get a hold of yourself, cat," he snarled, forcing her to look him in the eye. When she _did_ look up, her golden orbs were huge, and saliva was dripping down the corners of her mouth.

"_Why?_" she whispered, clutching his arms tightly. "Why should _I_ have to get a hold of myself when everything else is falling apart?" She seemed to be choking on her voice, choking on the air that barely existed. Fire started to swim around her, pulling her down into the depths of madness.

"_Blaze,_" he hissed, shaking her again. She looked up at him once more, completely composed and back to normal. She blinked slowly at him and raised an eyebrow at their closeness.

"Why are you holding me?" she asked bluntly, making him quickly take a step back.

"Are you alright?" he asked hesitantly, watching as the fire sank back into her flesh.

She paused for a moment as if she wasn't sure, but soon shook her head. "Of course I'm alright. Let's just keep going." She started walking again and Mephiles followed, watching her closely and feeling for a small, possible tear in the dimension.

He started to feel a thin part that they could open without _too_ much damage, when Blaze's voice broke through his thoughts.

"Tell me how you know so much about time and space." Her voice wasn't harsh like how it normally sounded when she spoke to him. This time she sounded curious, as if she _actually_ wanted to know more about him.

"I told you before that this void sees me as time. In a way, that's what I am." He paused for a moment, wondering how much she'd actually believe. "I've traveled time and space my entire life, it's become a part of me." He laughed softly. "I've seen so many things, Blaze, been so many places." He looked at her eagerly, almost childishly. "When we get out of here, there's so many things I could take you to see. I could show you the whole universe, Blaze, I could show you all of time." He held out his hand to her, green eyes shining. "Forget Mobius, and come with me."

Blaze shook her head and took a step back. "Do you think that because you helped me control Iblis I'm going to trust you?" Her distrust for him glimmered in her eyes. "Do you think I'm going to abandon my world, abandon my friend, just to see the universe?"

Mephiles clicked his tongue and took a step forward. "You just said that your world hates you, Blaze. Why would you want to go back to a world that hates you?" He reached out his hand again. "There's no place for me in that world either. So help me find a world of our own."

Blaze began to shake her head again, but stopped and sighed. "Why can't the world we come from just accept who we are and leave us be?"

Mephiles grasped her hand and took a deep breath. "The trouble is, Blaze, people always see everything as black and white. Trust and betrayal, good and evil, truth and lies..." He cast her a sideways glance. "Your sanity."

Blaze laughed gently and raised a brow playfully. "Are you saying I'm insane?"

Mephiles chuckled along with her and cracked a sharp-toothed grin. "I can tell the void is still messing with your head." They laughed together for a moment before Mephiles spoke again. "So, tell me how you met this Silver."

_**{}{}**_

A flame burns out, erasing the life and memories that once was there. You think that if you kill the spark, you kill the fire. But if you kill the fire, you kill the life.

"If we get back, will the world already have been saved?"

"Yes, Blaze, the world will have already been saved."

She stated at him intently. "You won't try to destroy everything again, will you?"

He chewed his lip. "No. No I won't."

Blaze nodded and smiled faintly. "Good." But then she frowned in thought. "Silver won't trust you."

Mephiles shrugged. "It doesn't matter." He turned to face the void. "Now lets get out of here." He reached out to open the portal, when a sudden jolt went through both of them. They stared wide eyed at each other, watching as they began to fade around the edges.

Mephiles gasped softly. "They've blown out Iblis in the past," he whispered. "I can feel it."

Blaze stared at him in alarm. "What is _that_ supposed to mean?" she demanded.

Mephiles stepped forward and took both of her hands in his. "It means they've erased time."

Blaze clutched his hands tightly, staring as he started to become transparent. She drew in a shaky breath, and the silence hung between them. "So what happens now?"

He looked at her full in the face. "Everything will go back to as it was. But if either of us changes our actions, things might end differently. We both get a second chance."

"And if we both do the same exact things all over again?"

"Then time will be stuck in a constant loop, until one of us _does_ change the events."

They had almost faded completely now, but Blaze let a smile grace her lips. "You won't change, will you?"

Mephiles laughed and cupped her face in his hands, pressing his forehead against hers. "Never," he whispered.

They both faded away, a silent murmur of the past that was blown in the wind. But how can you change the past if you don't know the future?

_**{}{}**_

The lava bubbled down slowly, a calm, plotting rage that would soon rise up again. "Looks like we've stopped it for now," Blaze muttered, watching the monster sink below the flames.

Silver turned to her bitterly. "But it will just rise up from its ashes again." He turned back to the pit. "What's the point of all this?" He slammed his fist into a crumbling pillar angrily. "It'll never end."

Blaze reached out to him hesitantly "Calm down, Silver."

But he just shook his head sadly. "Then tell me what we should do." She had never seen him so distraught before; never seen him so desperate. "How can we completely destroy Iblis?" Blaze turned away and closed her eyes, shaking her head slightly. She didn't know what to tell him, didn't have all the answers. She paused for a moment. Why did all this feel so familiar?

"By knowing the truth, of course," a deep voice said softly. Blaze and Silver looked up quickly, seeing a black and gray hedgehog standing atop a broken building. "Just as a flower comes from a seed, or a chicken comes from an egg, everything has an origin. You need to find the being originally responsible for this catastrophe."

Silver looked up hopefully. "Is this _really_ the answer to our problems?" He pointed at the figure. "Tell me! Do _you_ know who it is?"

The strange hedgehog looked down at them, his green eyes boring into Blaze's. Something seemed strangely familiar about him. And then he smiled at her, recognition in his eyes. "Why don't you let me show you how the future can change the past in ways we don't wish to understand."


End file.
